


in every way

by obsetress



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Idek y'all, One Shot, it's................ a mary poppins au, well this happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:01:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27534187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obsetress/pseuds/obsetress
Summary: The Wingrave children are no strangers to the unexpected.Their whole lives, Flora and Miles have shuffled dutifully from one calamity to the next, braving the loss of their parents and the disappearance of Miss Jessel with the determined resilience of toy soldiers, moving together, in step, from Bly to their beleaguered uncle’s in London.And so it comes to pass that when a new nanny shows up on their doorstep, an American woman with rosy cheeks, a wide smile, and only a single suitcase––no car to be seen or heard from any which way––they don’t question it. They only nod, holding out their hands to shake when she chirps “and you must be Miles and Flora,” and step aside so that she can shuffle inside, eyes wide as she takes in the wood-paneled foyer around them.akathe low-hanging mary poppins au that literally no one asked for and i wrote anyway
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 10
Kudos: 132





	in every way

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading! If you'd like, you can find me on tumblr at marisas-coulters.
> 
> This one's for the gang at Wallably Manor, but mostly for Wallaby, who only just realized why Jamie calls Dani Poppins, and whom I can't resist trolling just a little bit more.

The Wingrave children are no strangers to the unexpected.

Their whole lives, Flora and Miles have shuffled dutifully from one calamity to the next, braving the loss of their parents and the disappearance of Miss Jessel with the determined resilience of toy soldiers, moving together, in step, from Bly to their beleaguered uncle’s in London.

And so it comes to pass that when a new nanny shows up on their doorstep, an American woman with rosy cheeks, a wide smile, and only a single suitcase––no car to be seen or heard from any which way––they don’t question it. They only nod, holding out their hands to shake when she chirps “and you must be Miles and Flora,” and step aside so that she can shuffle inside, eyes wide as she takes in the wood-paneled foyer around them. 

They don’t question the amount of clothes that somehow seems to fit in her compact valise (“how many lilac shirts could she possibly have?” Miles had whispered to Flora instead, the two of them watching Dani––“you can call me Dani. No need to be _posh_ ,” she’d exaggerated the vowels, affecting an accent with a playful wag of her eyebrows––warily from their room across the hall as she’d unpacked), nor do they question how the copious orchid hues seem to all but fly out of her bag and onto their hangers.

They don’t question the strange relationship Dani seems to have with the mirror, the way she always seems to pause as she passes one, leaning in to narrow her eyes at her reflection, as if she’s seeing something they can’t, murmuring the occasional quip at her reflection, or chuckle, shaking her head at it. They don’t question the way Flora’s dolls, a staple of the Wingrave children’s home from Bly all the way to London, seem to _move_ now, migrating from the floor to their rightful beds, snug in Flora’s dollhouse, as if of their volition, especially when Dani surveys them with hands on her hips and a pointed “you know, you need to make sure that you pick these up.”

They don’t question that Dani somehow fits the exact description of what they’d decided they’d wanted in a nanny, huddled around the kitchen table one night, Flora’s grip tight around her blue crayon, frantically scribbling, Miles chipping in with the occasional suggestion or spelling recommendation. They don’t question that Dani is determined in her cheerful disposition; that her cheeks are always rosy, the occasional added flush creeping along her neck or to the tips of her ears when she’s caught off guard by something; that she’s well equipped to play games––“all sorts,” Flora had written out that night, taking care to underline the words for emphasis––and at any hour, so long as their hands were scrubbed clean and their teeth brushed; and that, before she’s anything else, she’s kind. Dani’s kindness is a stubborn one, unwavering, despite whatever mess the Wingraves throw at her, and Flora thinks it might be her favorite thing about their new nanny.

No, Flora and Miles don’t question any of it. They’re no strangers to the unexpected, after all, and after what they’ve been through, anything that’s purely a peculiarity is welcome.

* * *

It’s a Saturday, and Henry needs the children out.

“Can’t you... “ he waves a hand in Dani’s general direction, flapping it towards the door. “I’m sorry, but I have to work,” he explains halfheartedly, glancing up from the splay of papers in front of him.

Dani bites the inside of her cheek, hands clasped behind her back, watching Henry turn back to his work, reaching for the crystal cut glass tumbler next to him. “Sure,” she says, making a mental note to corner him later, convince him to actually spend some time with his niece and nephew. Get outside. Fly a kite, maybe, she thinks. Hadn’t she seen that in a movie somewhere? “You should… Take a break,” she tries in the meantime, biting her lip and hesitating before lowering her voice and adding, “you’re allowed to be happy too, you know.” 

Dani doesn’t get to see his reaction, is tugged back to the foyer by the sound of feet clambering down the stairs, turning around and plastering a smile on her face. “Hey, you two,” she reaches out to ruffle Miles’ hair with one hand, tucking a flyaway strand of Flora’s hair behind her ear with the other. “How would you guys feel about a trip to the park today? There’s someone I want you both to meet.”

Their faces light up. “Could we go to the zoo after?” Miles asks, and Flora rocks upwards on the balls of her feet, jumping in. “I’d like to see the animals too! Oh, please, can we?” 

Dani’s smile widens as she crosses to the hall closet, eyeing her reflection out of the corner of her eye as she goes. Her reflection is equally smug, cocking her head at Dani as if savoring an inside joke, and Dani shakes her head slightly at her before tugging open the closet door. “Yeah,” she says, helping Flora into her coat, eyes twinkling. “I think we can manage some animals.”

Miles and Flora chatter about the zoo the whole walk to the park, Flora’s hand neatly tucked away in Dani’s. Dani can’t quite make out what they’re saying (something about kangaroos and Australia and _perfectly desperately_ wanting to visit someday and what was the difference between a kangaroo and a wallaby, anyway), too immersed in her own thoughts, smiling to herself at the prospect of just how soon they’d find themselves in the park.

Sure enough, they’re turning the corner and the park gates are waiting for them.

Slouched casually against the tall wrought iron is a woman, her tan utility jumpsuit––more dirt than khaki at this point––haphazardly unzipped, black top and gold chain peeking through underneath.

Dani’s eyes dip down to where the woman’s zipper rests against her sternum before quickly shaking her head, clearing it, determined to look anywhere but at the woman’s smirking lips. “Flora, Miles,” she says, resting a hand on each of their shoulders, “this is Jamie.”

“Are you a chimney sweep, then?” Miles looks up at Jamie from under his cap, squinting through the sunlight.

Jamie crinkles her nose, recoiling. “Nice to meet you too, mate. What about me makes you think I’m a chimney sweep?”

Miles shrugs. “You have dirt… Everywhere.”

“There’s a bit on your nose,” Flora proffers.

Jamie blinks, eyes crossing as she tries to catch the offending spot.

Dani laughs, endeared, reaching out to brush the dirt off of Jamie’s nose with her thumb.

Jamie’s lost for a moment then, eyes following Dani’s movements before snapping back to Miles. “There’s dirt on my nose because I’m a gardener,” she explains. “My old man though,” she adds thoughtfully, “he was always tracking soot through the house.”

Flora chimes in, her voice guiding Jamie back to the present, to the green around them, to the sunshine. “That sounds perfectly dreadful.”

Jamie squats down to Flora’s eye level, her boots squeaking in the dewy grass. “It was,” she confides, before her mouth splits into a lopsided grin. “But you know what’s not perfectly dreadful?”

Flora shakes her head excitedly, hanging on Jamie’s every word.

“Poppins here,” and Jamie grins up at Dani before turning back to Flora. “You’re lucky to have her around. It’s even been said,” she leans in, lowering her voice conspiratorially, “that she’s practically perfect in every way.”

Jamie can’t contain her chuckle at the way Flora’s eyes widen, bright and awestruck, before Flora leans in to meet her. “Might you even say,” Flora whispers back, “that she’s perfectly splendid in every way?”

Jamie’s watching Dani out of the corner of her eye, catches the flush spreading up her neck. “In every way,” she agrees, beaming back at Flora.

Dani rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling wider than either Flora or Miles have ever seen her, blush reaching her ears now. “Okay, you three,” and her hand finds Flora’s again, Jamie looking up at her from where she’s crouched, smiling warmly at her over Flora’s head, “what do you say?” She squares her shoulders towards the park entrance, sets her jaw, and does her best to lend a sense of gravitas to her voice. “Do we dare?”

Flora giggles, and Jamie watches Dani, as enamored by the same dauntless charm as the children seem to be.

“Do you think there’s… Adventure?” Dani turns to Flora, eyebrows raised, and Flora nods eagerly.

“Do you think there’s… Intrigue?” Dani turns to Miles this time, who sets his jaw to match hers, nodding resolutely.

“Do you think there’s… Romance?” Dani’s eyes soften as she looks over at Jamie, whose hand Flora has grabbed with her free one, and the corner of Jamie’s mouth quirks up as she inclines her head softly towards Dani, offering her a wink in response. 

“Alrighty then,” Dani nods, grabbing Miles’ hand with her free one, and together, the four of them step through the gate.

* * *

The children are buzzing when they return home later that night.

Henry tells Dani she can take the evening, that between the cook and the housekeeper they can handle dinner, as thanks for the peace and quiet she’d ensured for him that afternoon. Dani’s back out the door after a polite “thank you,” cutting back towards the park, and Henry has half the mind to remind her that it closes at dusk, but when he’s poking his head out the door to call after her, Dani is nowhere to be seen.

“So the zoo, then?” Henry asks the children as they sink into their places at the dining table, shaking out his napkin over his lap. 

Miles shakes his head happily, mouth full of pot pie, and Flora answers excitedly: “no, we went to _Australia_ instead. I’d always wanted to go, and Dani knew it, and so us and Miss Jamie, she took us there!”

It’s not the answer Henry is expecting. “You went to… Australia?”

Miles nods. “We saw the Outback,” he explains excitedly, “and the ocean. And––”

“The _kangaroos,_ ” Flora interjects, “tell him about the kangaroos!”

“They boxed,” Miles says seriously, then repeats to himself, in wonderment, as if he can hardly believe what he’s just said, “the kangaroos were boxing _._ With gloves and everything.”

“And they sang!” Flora adds, “they were boxing, _singing_ kangaroos!”

Henry looks between the two children as they go on––something about the jungle now, and the flowers, and how whoever this Miss Jamie is was pointing out which flowers could talk and which couldn’t and which were the gossips you could never take seriously, and how she’d told them all about her grand adventures with Dani from Australia to Vermont to the moon, where all the best flowers were, she’d promised––can’t believe what he’s hearing, knows it must be impossible, but instead, all he can think is how _joyful_ he finds the two of them. He’s not sure the last time he’s heard Flora laughing like this, or seen a smile the size of this one broach Miles’ face.

He thinks back to the papers eclipsing the coffee table, to the bourbon waiting for him on the mantle, next to the whiskey he’d already planned on slipping into his tea the next morning.

What was it Dani had said? _You’re allowed to be happy too, you know._

Henry Wingrave makes up his mind.

“What do you say we go to the park tomorrow?”

Flora and Miles both turn to look at him, unblinking.

“The three of us,” he clarifies, swallowing. “What do you say we go to the park tomorrow, just the three of us? We can… Have our own adventure.”

It reminds him of when he was a child, the imaginary friends he’d had growing up at the house in Bly, the stories he’d given them. Maybe there was something to that, he thinks to himself, to imagination. To opening one’s oneself up to joy, and inviting it in. 

Smiles break out on Flora and Miles’ faces, bigger, even, than the ones they’d been wearing a moment ago. He feels his own face begin to smile in response.

It’s different, he thinks, new. He’s no stranger to the unexpected either, but It’s been a long time since he’s let himself feel this kind of joy. 

All he had to do was invite it in.


End file.
